Details of the Exhibit
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Title Of the Earth
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Artist Olga Ziemska
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Date June 2025
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Location Ortenstone Gardens & Sculpture Park
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Special Recognition to the following supporters:
• City of Detroit Lakes
• DL Hotel Group
• Project 412
As Artist in Residence, Ziemska will install four large-scale, site-specific sculptures for the grounds, engage the community through her creative process, and invite us all to think about how we live with—and within—nature. The exhibition, titled “Of the Earth,” features three sculptures and one new permanent work.
Thanks to generous donors, the sculptures: ONA, STRATA, and HEAR are now permanent additions to the Gardens!
The Story of the Art
Olga Ziemska
In the video below, Olga describes her art featured at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. Many of these art pieces will be displayed in Ortenstone Gardens.
About the Artist
Olga Ziemska
Internationally recognized sculptor and environmental artist Olga Ziemska is the newest Project 412 Artist in Residence.
Known for her poetic and large-scale site-specific sculptures, Ziemska brings a powerful voice to the global dialogue on art, ecology, and our connection to the natural world. Ziemska’s work explores the relationship between humanity and nature, challenging viewers to reconsider their place within an interconnected system. Her sculptures dissolve the boundary between body and environment, drawing on themes of ecology, biophilia, panpsychism, materiality, and identity.
A graduate of Columbus College of Art & Design (BFA, 2000), Ziemska was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland. Her large-scale works have been exhibited around the world in solo exhibitions such as “Of the Earth” at the Morton Arboretum, “Mirror Matter” at MOCA Cleveland, and “Accumulate Visions. Build Bridges. Breath.” At the Center of Polish Sculpture. Ziemska has represented the United States in major international art events, including festivals and biennales in Taiwan, South Korea, Italy, and the Czech Republic. Her accolades include two Creative Workforce Fellowships, the Wendy L. Moore Emerging Artist Award, and recognition as a “Woman to Watch” by the Ohio Arts Council.
“Ziemska’s presence marks an exciting chapter for Project 412.
We look forward to the thought-provoking work she will create
during her time in Detroit Lakes.”
Of the Earth Gallery
Of the Earth Gallery
Click on photos to enlarge into full scene
ONA
2023
Olga Ziemska
ONA (Polish word for “she”) is a sculpture of a female bust merging with the ground, her flowing hair made of locally harvested tree branches. The mirrored eyes reflect the surrounding environment within, symbolizing the deep connection between humans and nature.
For more information go to WWW.OLGAZIEMSKA.COM
HEAR: WITH AN EAR TO THE GROUND
2023
Olga Ziemska
HEAR: WITH AN EAR TO THE GROUND is an oversized human head sculpture resting in nature with one ear pressed to the ground – quietly listening to the earth and its natural surroundings. Covered in white river rocks creating a distinctive visual and tactile texture that grounds the sculpture and deepens its connection to the earth.
For more information go to WWW.OLGAZIEMSKA.COM
STRATA
2023
Olga Ziemska
STRATA, inspired by Ziemska’s theme of the body as landscape, features a reclining female figure emerging from—or merging with—the ground, blurring the boundary between human form and terrain. Composed of gabion structures filled with layered river rock, the work evokes geological strata, symbolizing memory, time, and our deep connection to the earth.
For more information go to WWW.OLGAZIEMSKA.COM